/*!
  \file
  Header file to describe a buffer object
*/

/*
  Copyright (c) 2011, President & Fellows of Harvard College
  All rights reserved.

  Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
  
  * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
  * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
  * Neither the name of the Harvard College nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
  
  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*/

#ifndef SCIGPU_HHV_BUFFER_OBJECT_HPP
#define SCIGPU_HHV_BUFFER_OBJECT_HPP

#include <iostream>

//! Global SciGPU namespace
namespace SciGPU {
  //! Namespace for the heterogeneous hypervolume
  namespace HHV {

    //! An abstract buffer class to enable communication between implementation types
    /*!
      In order for SciGPU::HHV::HHVolume objects to communicate with each other,
      they need to have a standard representation of the data.
      This is held on the 'host' machine and can be copied from one runtime instance
      to another.
      This abstract base class describes the functionality required by all buffers.
      @tparam T The type of the buffer.
     */
    template<typename T>
    class BufferObject {
    public:
      //! Constructor
      BufferObject( void ) {};
      
      //! Destructor
      virtual ~BufferObject( void ) {};
      
      //! Clone method
      virtual BufferObject<T>* clone( void ) const  = 0;
      
      //! Pure virtual allocation of a buffer to hold \a nItems objects of type \a T
      virtual void Allocate( const size_t nItems ) = 0;
      
      //! Pure virtual release
      virtual void Release( void ) = 0;
      
      //! Pure virtual buffer accessor
      virtual T* start( void ) = 0;
    };

  }
}


#endif
